Riptide: The Dark Waters series, #1

By Aleera Anaya Ceres

A sunken ship.

The cruise was supposed to help Coral forget about the past. Instead, it thrusts her into a nightmare of carnage, death, and waves dragging her under. Coral was supposed to die, but a merman's kiss brings her back to life…

An evil queen.

She wished he would have left her for dead. But the mysterious merman drags her to the Dark Waters where she must stand trial for accusations of crimes she did not commit. Innocence means nothing when the Black Kingdom's queen is vicious and unforgiving. And not even the merman she thought to be an ally can protect her from her fate…

And a mermaid, fighting for freedom.

Enslaved and forced to do the queen's bidding, Coral must survive dark magic and strange creatures. Frightened and alone, she can trust no one. Not the maid, who is as much a slave as she. Not the merman, whose heartbroken kiss gave her a second chance. Not the tattooed royal guard, whose blade promises death and body promises ruin. All Coral can rely on is herself. To discover the secrets the queen harbors. Of old magic and broken kingdoms and wars long lost. Of the hold the witch has on the mer. Because Coral knows the Dark Waters is not what it appears to be. And once she discovers the truth of the Black Kingdom…

She will bring it crumbling to the ground.

Author's note: This series is a dark fantasy/paranormal romance with scenes unsuitable for readers below the age of 18.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aleera Anaya Ceres
• Release date: Feb 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201469696

Book preview

Riptide

Riptide

Aleera Anaya Ceres

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Riptide text copyright 2021 Aleera Anaya Ceres

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

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Book design by Dark Imaginarium Art & Design

Editing by Lisa Nieves-Taylor

To the sea.

You will always have my heart.

Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.

-Robert Henri

TRIGGER WARNING

This book contains dark materials, such as the mention of rape, abuse, and dubious consent, that may be triggering for some readers.

Contents

The Sinking

The Invitation

Aboard

The Accident

The Merman

A Lesson in History

The Black Kingdom

Ulla Magissa

The Trial

Caspian

The Cruel Queen

Swimming Lessons

The Queen’s Daughter

A Touch of Kindness

Community Service

The Branding

Sea Legs

A Lesson in Fighting

The Whispers of An Uprising

Matthias

The Atlantean Slaves

Keepers of Knowledge & Magic

A Secret in the Dark

Weapon of War

Secrets Unveiled

Prisoners of War

A Change in Plans

Breakout

Betrayals and Lies

Atonement

Traitor

The Secret Prisoner

The Queen’s Spy

Zenara

A Lost Voice

Mermaid

Glossary

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also By Aleera Anaya Ceres

The Sinking

She never imagined she’d die like this. With the weight of crushing water pressing up against her chest, threatening to cave it in. She had tried to stay afloat for as long as she could, but the sinking of the boat had caused vicious whirlpools around her. It was as if the water itself had unforgiving arms that dragged her under… under… under…

She flailed her arms in a panic through the endless void until her hands came in contact with something solid. She grabbed without seeing, kicked her legs in a powerful thrust. Swimming upwards, she breached the surface and gasped for breath.

Her lungs burned as she swallowed gulps of fresh air, but when she realized what exactly was keeping her up, she let out a shrill scream, jerking back and falling away from the upturned corpse.

Soon, even that drifted away, and she had absolutely nothing to hold onto; she was left suspended on the surface for hours, listening desperately for any sound of help. There was nothing but the lonely cries of gulls overhead and the violent crashing of waves.

Her strength and determination lasted a while, but even that eventually dissipated. She could no longer move her legs, her arms; her head, suddenly leaden, bobbed below the water, and she gave no further struggle as she sank.

It was then that the miserable thought flooded through her mind.

I never thought I’d die like this.

In fact, the thought of her own death had never before crossed her mind. It wasn’t something any sane person contemplated, really. But now that she was in this situation, she found that drowning in the ocean was a terrible way to go.

The air that inhabited her lungs was replaced with the burn of salt water. She swallowed mouthfuls of it; her very chest was on fire; her nostrils, mouth, and insides fighting back against the violation of it into her body. It was a feeble attempt to keep her lungs from bursting against the pressure they found themselves under. She physically fought back, as if convulsing in trepidation could have saved her. It did little good.

She sunk deeper towards the darkness. Her body would become a feast for the fishes. She pondered the thought as she said a quick farewell to the light of the sun breaching the surface.

It would be the last she ever saw of the light. The last she ever saw of the sky before she became one entirely with the ocean.

She was just about to close her eyes to fate when the quick motion of something bright and blurry caught her eye. Panic was now a familiar emotion to her, but even as the sentiment buried itself in her chest, her body didn’t have the energy to fight back whatever creature had come for her.

A long, scaly fin in a scintillating blue and green camouflage of color curled against her legs. Then a figure appeared before her. She tried to scream, wanted to, but couldn’t. Not with the lack of air in her system and certainly not at this fantasy sprung to life before her.

Her brain was probably deprived of oxygen and that’s why she was imagining things. Because she knew in her mind that mermen did not exist.

Certainly not one as beautiful as this one.

He leaned forward, taking her face in his scaly hands and, in a startling move, pressed surprisingly warm lips against hers. She wondered if he was trying to breathe oxygen into her. If so, she felt nothing but warm water slide down her throat.

And then nothing at all.

The Invitation

One week earlier…

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"I am not going on a cruise."

C’mon! Why not? It’ll be fun! Besides, it’s all paid for and it’s not as though you have plans. As if to prove her point, Olivia tapped her sharp, manicured fingernails against Coral’s computer screen and at the near-blank word document that had taunted her for weeks.

Coral simply pushed aside her fingers with the end of her pencil and shot her a look after shoving her falling glasses up the ridge of her nose. I can’t, she stated firmly. I have work.

Looks to me like you have writer’s block.

Coral let loose an exasperated breath, pressing her elbows against her desk and leaning her face to rest in her palms. She rubbed at the headache forming at her temples, trying to ease it before it attacked with full force. I meant at the library. She looked up at her best friend and roommate.

Olivia just tossed her long, blonde tresses over one shoulder with an annoyed gesture. Ask for a vacation. Lord knows you deserve one.

Coral shook her head. I can’t. Not on such short notice.

It was Olivia’s turn to blow out her own exasperated—overly exaggerated, in Coral’s opinion—breath. Then, something in her face and voice softened. Coral, I’m worried about you. You’ve been holed up inside this apartment for ages. You haven’t really been yourself since Trent—

Coral scraped her chair across the hardwood floor, flinching slightly as she did so. It’d been a knee-jerk instinct. Her movement was so abrupt, Olivia hopped off her desk and stared at her with wide eyes. Coral cringed inwardly. She hadn’t meant to startle her friend. She’d just wanted this conversation over. She didn’t want to talk about Trent. Not now. Not ever again.

I can’t go, Olivia. I have to work at the library and finish writing the outline to my novel. She knew she was making excuses. She also knew that Olivia was right. She had a serious case of writer’s block that had lasted about five months now. Nothing seemed to crack that adamant wall in her head, and it was driving her insane.

Fine. Olivia threw her hands up in resignation. "If you don’t want to go, I’m not going to push you. I just thought that after years of working with little reprieve and then months of pining after that fucking tool, you’d want to take a break. Have you ever thought that maybe the reason you can’t write anything is because your brain is on overload? Soaking in some sun and relaxing won’t kill you. In fact, I bet it will get your juices flowing again, but since you’re so strung up on staying inside and being miserable, have it your way!"

With that out, she let out a hmph and turned on her heel to storm away to her room, slamming the door behind her and leaving Coral alone with her thoughts. As soon as she was gone, Coral sunk back into her chair and leaned her forehead against the cool wood of the desk.

She tried not to take what Olivia had said to heart. Usually, her friend was so overly dramatic that most of what she muttered about could fly over Coral’s head, but in this instance, could she really be upset with her friend when she was right? She was overworked, sure, but Coral enjoyed working at the library. She loved being surrounded by books. It was like living a fantasy. When she surrounded herself by the crinkling pages, she was home. In books, she would not find ever-lasting heartache. In books, the characters did not leave her in the dust with a lonely, broken soul.

Coral shook that thought out of her head and sat back up, staring at the blank pages of her unfinished novel. For months it had been this way. It didn’t matter what she did, the writer’s block wouldn’t go away. Some days, she’d sit at her desk for hours, fingers tracing lightly over the keys of her computer, but no words would flow.

Maybe it was because her brain was on overload. If Coral was honest with herself, the idea of a vacation did seem appealing to her, but… a cruise? She couldn’t imagine herself getting on one ever again, since just the thought of them brought up painful memories.

Coral hadn’t always been this way. She used to be fun. She used to laugh without restraint and find joy in the smallest of things, but then…

No.

Her thoughts screeched to a halt. She wouldn’t think of him now. It was one thing to have him in her subconscious thoughts, preventing her from even wanting to step foot on a boat or near the ocean ever again, but to actually have his name in the front of her mind was unacceptable.

She groaned and tugged at the ends of her dark twin braids. Why had she let him haunt her this way? Why had she allowed him to sink himself so deep into her mind that she could hardly continue on with the life she’d led before?

But she knew the answer to that well enough.

He’d irrevocably damaged her.

And maybe that’s why she couldn’t write a single, freaking word! Because he was still there in her mind and she needed to get him out.

And how was she supposed to do that when he’d been implanted into her mind for so long, leaving her bereft of joy?

The first step would be to go near the ocean again, a tiny voice in her mind urged. What better way to get over it than to face your fears?

Coral shot to her feet, not caring that she’d toppled over her chair with the brusque movement. She had nothing to prove, certainly not to Olivia, but the urge was there. The urge to demonstrate to herself, to the world, that he’d no longer have a hold on her. That she was normal. That she wasn’t broken. So, without knocking, Coral barged straight into her friend’s room and declared, Fine! I’ll go!

Olivia was sprawled on her stomach, looking nonchalant, passing a brush over her fingernails. She didn’t even look up at Coral’s entrance. She smiled as if she’d known what the result would be this entire time. Good, she replied. Best start packing. We leave tomorrow.

Aboard

They’d hopped from plane to plane to plane, then from a taxi, to the hotel, to another taxi, and now an enormous cruise ship stationed at the docks in Neo Limani, Greece. The minute Coral set foot on the deck, she tugged self-consciously at one of her braids, then at the bikini top Olivia had so graciously lent her. Generous amounts of boob nearly toppled out of its small size, making Coral wonder why she had even accepted borrowing it in the first place. Anxiety clawed at her throat at the feeling of being so exposed.

She looked around, palm splayed over her chest as if that could cover her almost-nudity, only to notice that a lot of the female passengers were dressed in light tank tops despite the heat. She shot Olivia a look, but the other girl didn’t notice. She was busy ogling a passing man in a speedo.

Take a whiff. Olivia placed her fist on her hip and inhaled deeply through her nose. You smell that? She nudged Coral, nearly knocking her into a man next to her. It smells like we’re not in Kansas anymore!

We’re from Colorado…

Don’t be a party shitter. Now come on! She grabbed Coral’s elbow and tugged her forward, nudging through the crowd of vacationers on board The Siren. There was chaos all around, and it sent Coral’s frigid and orderly nerves into a frenzy.

The cruise ship still hadn’t taken off yet, presumably waiting for the last passengers or doing last minute engine checks. Coral assumed the latter. She also wondered if it was too late to turn tail and run.

Stepping onto the ship and trying not to think of the past was probably the hardest thing she’d ever done. But a steady elation built in the pounding of her chest at the sight of the water and the smell of crisp ocean air. Despite those awful memories that threatened to plague her, her heart still thundered at the sight of the crystal blue water.

I can’t believe how beautiful this place is! Olivia was saying as she dragged Coral along behind her.

Considering Olivia had barely glanced around at the Grecian scenery, too rushed to get on board before Coral decided to change her mind, Coral shot her a disbelieving look. Sure, the inside of the ship was beautiful, but she didn’t think anything could compare to the outside.

But Coral didn’t want to put out the flame of her friend’s optimism, so she dutifully followed her down and through hallways, below deck until they reached their shared bedroom.

The interior was opulent—it was the honeymoon suite, after all—with an enormous king-sized bed littered with flower petals and chocolates in a way that leaned towards frivolous. The walls were set in a latticework of glittering golds and pink patterns; two windows spread adjacently across the wall, giving them the perfect view of miles of cerulean ocean.

Olivia, ignoring the beautiful setup of the bed, hurried in and threw her bags on top of it with surprising strength. Inside, she looked around and again, took a giant whiff of the air. Look. She pointed at the windows. An ocean view!

Coral rolled her eyes, closing the door and coming in to claim the right side of the bed. She placed her bags down in a much gentler manner, opening them to start unpacking. First thing she planned on doing was changing out of the ridiculous swimsuit for a new, more comfortable one. A one piece would do nicely. Or maybe board shorts and a t-shirt.

Beside her, Oliva began jumping on the bed.

You’re going to break it, Coral berated sternly.

We’re on vacation! All exclusive, everything paid for! I will jump on this bed if I damn well please. She giggled between words and finally flopped back down onto the mattress, wincing when her head hit the box of chocolate. She pulled it out to look at it absently. In a way, I’m kind of glad he couldn’t come on this trip. She tossed the candy to the floor with a single, distracted flick of her fingers. It gives me and you a chance to hang out and reconnect.

Coral nodded solemnly in agreement.

The mysterious ‘he’ was Olivia’s boyfriend. He was as rich as he was handsome and old enough to be Olivia’s father. Coral had never met him, but her best friend talked about him enough that she felt as though she knew him already. He sponsored everything from sports to wildlife research campaigns with his billions. Coral didn’t really understand his job. All she knew was that he’d cancelled this trip on Olivia at the last minute but had given her leave to invite whoever she wanted.

We’re going to have a blast!

I’m sure we will, Coral replied, taking out her own one-piece swimsuit and letting it unfold. She’d be more comfortable in it as it showed less cleavage. Smiling, Coral set the swimwear down and began to strip. She dropped her shorts and swim bottoms first, then reached behind her neck, untying the string and letting the top drop.

Humming absently to herself, she picked up her own swimsuit and stepped one leg in, then another. She was interrupted mid-task by Olivia’s low, appreciative whistle. Coral looked up in surprise to find Olivia staring at her with wide eyes.

I’m so jealous of your tits. She sighed, still staring.

Coral blushed a deep shade of red, then stared down at her boobs. They were bigger than she liked and made her self-conscious, even more so now. Hands trembling, anxiety clogging her throat, she tugged up the swimsuit quickly, securing the straps against her shoulders.

I don’t understand why you have to hide them. I’d kill to have curves like yours.

Olivia was tall and willowy. She had wide hips, but that was pretty much where all curviness ended. Olivia was everything Coral was not. Tall to Coral’s short. Thin to Coral’s curves. Olivia had blonde hair and eyes the color of copper, but Coral had hair as dark as ink and eyes as blue as the sea.

Now that you’re marrying a rich man, maybe he can buy them for you, Coral joked, earning herself a swift pillow to the face. She laughed, surprised by how easy it was to suddenly fall back into that banter with her best friend. With a start, she realized how much she missed that. She hadn’t been herself at all. She’d been going through life like a phantom of her old self, uncomfortable in her own skin, dreading almost every second of every day.

Well, she decided with firm determination, that was going to change.

They started at the spa, then headed off to the buffet. When they finished eating, they sat on deck beside the pool and took in the sun. More accurately, Olivia took in the sun; she even untied the strings to her thin bikini, claiming to hate tan lines. Coral just sat a little further in the shade wearing sunglasses and a sunhat, a novel propped up on her knees.

The spa had relaxed her immensely. After pushing past the discomfort of having a stranger’s hands on her and once the woman began kneading at the knots in her neck, it left her forgetting she’d even had problems in the first place. Why had she objected to a vacation, again? She couldn’t even remember. All she knew was that she was finally having a good time.

This is the life, Olivia echoed Coral’s thoughts aloud. I could stay here forever.

Though Olivia couldn’t see with her eyes closed, Coral nodded her agreement. It felt good to finally let go, to feel the tension of the previous year slowly release from her body.

All you need now is to find a man to help rattle your sheets.

Coral snorted at the same time anxiety exploded in her chest. She took a breath and tried for levity. Yeah, right. With you creeping on the other side of the bed? No, thanks. As far as she was concerned, a man was what had gotten her into that situation in the first place. She didn’t need another one. Ever.

Coral licked the tip of her finger and changed the page.

Are you going to read this whole vacation? Olivia demanded.

Coral shrugged. Probably. She was able to read two whole paragraphs before Olivia interrupted her again.

Can you please not?

Is my sitting here quietly bothering you?

Yes. You should be doing something. Like swimming. You should be swimming instead of reading.

Coral slammed her book closed with a frustrated sigh, knowing that if she even tried to continue, her friend wouldn’t let her. Since murdering her friend with a book was illegal in any country, Coral decided to concede. Fine! She stood up, clutching the novel tightly between her fingers. Let me go drop this off in the room. I’ll be back up in a bit.

Don’t dawdle down there. Hurry back.

Yeah, yeah, Coral waved her off and headed down to the room. When she arrived, she put her book away and made quick work of using the restroom and fixing her swimsuit in the mirror. Before leaving the room, however, she peered out the window. She found herself looking out of them often. The ship seemed practically anchored at the slow pace it was moving, and Coral liked to watch ocean life swim past the window.

Just that morning she’d seen a school of fish rush by. It was like having an aquarium right outside her window. Coral sighed, pressing her nose against the cool glass to stare at the bubbly water. She squinted, hoping to catch a glimpse of something before she had to resurface. When nothing passed by for a few minutes, she was about to turn in defeat, but froze when movement caught her eye. It had passed so abruptly, she may have imagined it, but for a brief second, it had looked like a large tailfin—the size of an entire body—had zipped past.

She gave a startled yelp and fell back, tripping to the floor when the shadowed silhouette of a massive hand pressed against a corner of the glass.

A second later, it was gone.

Scrambling to a standing position, Coral rubbed a hand across her eyes before looking out the window once more. Had she imagined it? Coral pressed against the thick panes, hoping to catch sight of it again, but there was nothing. No sign of any creatures swimming through the blue depths.

The water was empty.

Convinced she’d only taken in too much sun and was starting to hallucinate, she laughed nervously to herself. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been watching her. That someone was still watching her even as she left.

The Accident

The next morning, Coral was up early, rising before Olivia even stirred. She’d spent most of her night downing margaritas and dancing wildly on the bar while Coral spent most of the night trying to get Olivia off. Olivia had tried convincing Coral to drink tequila shots, which she vehemently refused. Looking at her friend now, Coral certainly didn’t regret her decision. Olivia moaned in her sleep. Just in case, Coral hunted down a bucket and placed it next to her bed before leaving the room behind, novel in hand.

On deck, the sun was already shining, and people were walking around in vacation bliss. Parents watched after their children as they jumped into the pool and ran about. Coral smiled at the sight as she made her way to the railing. It was tall, taller than her at least. Probably made so that children—and drunken idiots—didn’t fall over to their deaths.

Coral was neither drunk nor a child, and she was curious, the image of the palm pressed tightly against glass haunting her. She placed her forearms against the railing and using all her strength, pulled herself up so she dangled in order to peek over the edge at the ocean below.

The white and blue waves splashed almost violently against the bottom of the boat. The whole imagery of it was rather relaxing, to see the water bubble on the surface and splash like waves crashing on a shoreline. The whooshing sounds of it filled her veins, thrummed through her blood. It seemed like the very threads of the crystal surface was calling out to her, beckoning her to jump in.

She relinquished all feeling, falling victim to the magical call of the sea. She focused on seeing just below the surface at the creatures underneath. Even now, how many sea animals were swimming away from the massive ship as it tore through their path? Was that the gray tail of a shark she saw? Were there groups of dolphins under there even now? It was amazing to think of a whole world living just beneath her.

Coral sighed contentedly, leaning her cheek against her arm, still gazing at the water. It hypnotized her, left her wanting. Wanting what, she wasn’t sure. But she wanted with every fiber in her being something more. She watched the colors dance across the surface. Blue, white and green, even the yellow of sunlight shining down on it. Then, a flash of red passed through the water—

Lady! You can’t be up there!

Coral startled, hopped from the rail, and turned with a blush, face to face with a security guard. His expression was angry, stern, and it sent her apologizing ferociously. He warned her away from the railing and didn’t leave until she found herself a seat in a shaded area on deck.

She’d brought her book to read in peace before Olivia came up to interrupt her. Coral knew she probably should have socialized with other passengers, but she felt content enough alone. People were ew in her opinion.

It’d been a long while since she’d actually read for pleasure. Sure, she worked in a library, but she didn’t spend work hours laying around reading. She shelved books, charged late fees, tutored children, etc. There was a lot more to her job than just spending the day reading. It felt nice to finally be able to bury herself in words and a fantasy world.

She was halfway through her novel when she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. She looked up from her page to find a bright orange speedo pointed straight at her face. She flushed three different shades of red at the sight. Her eyes darted up to the man standing confidently before her, fists on his hips, pelvis jutted forward.

Hullo. He smiled down at her, his very bright tan nearly burning holes through her eyes.

Hi. Coral’s voice came out scratchy, so she cleared her throat, feeling the sudden tightness there. She couldn’t help the burst of fear at his proximity. She wanted to close her eyes, but they were wide, hyper focused on his every move.

You’re safe, she told herself. There’s people around, you’re safe.

I saw you sitting all alone and wanted to ask you a question.

Oookay… Coral gripped her book tighter, discreetly holding it up against her chest when she noticed his beady little eyes looking in that direction. His tan really was rather ridiculous. His coloring was a mixture of orange and brown, a spray tan gone wrong, while his eyelids and surrounding area were pale. She wondered what question he meant to ask, but at the same time dreaded its arrival.

He smiled, revealing wide horse teeth. Did it hurt?

Excuse me?

Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

Oh Jesus, he did not just ask me that. She wanted to blush, sigh, roll her eyes, flee from him, and laugh at him all at once. How was she even supposed to respond to that? Was she supposed to thank him? Cuss him out? She did neither. Instead, she re-buried her face in her novel, trying to pick up where she left off. Maybe he’d take a hint.

But he didn’t. He stood and stared down at her as if expectant of a response.

Um… She fiddled with the edges of the book anxiously.

No.

Coral jerked up at the sight of Olivia suddenly beside the man. Relief coursed through her almost instantly. She had on enormous sunglasses, a hat, and her bikini. Coral didn’t have to see her eyes to know she glared mutinously at the man. The wonderful result of her hangover.

The man turned to Olivia with surprise. No?

No, Olivia repeated. Get lost. She’s not interested.

The man sputtered. I—I think that’s for the lady to decide. Not you.

Olivia snorted, and in a swift, elegant movement, pulled the sunglasses from her face. Yes, Coral had been right. She looked mutinous. Her brown eyes seemed to blaze. You look like a greasy, hairless oompa loompa. If that doesn’t automatically disqualify you, then that stupid pick-up line and your leering eyes did. Now get lost before I knee you in the nuts.

His face flamed brightly beneath his ruddy tan. Coral almost felt sorry for him. Bitch! he spat. Well, almost. With that said, he turned on his heel and walked away.

What a pig, Olivia complained before flopping down into a seat next to Coral, wincing as she did so. God, can’t they shut their kids up? She threw her arm over her forehead and whined a low groan. I’m never drinking again.

You say that every time you drink, Coral reminded her gently. And it’s never true.

Shut up.

Thanks for saving me.

I got your back, Jack.

Coral chuckled at that truth. They’d been friends for years, practically since childhood. Olivia was always standing up for Coral, always fighting her battles when she lost her voice to do so. Theirs was a true friendship that would last forever.

Coral, Olivia groaned unpleasantly, why is the boat spinning?

It’s not spinning, Coral mumbled as she lazily flipped a page. It’s moving forward. It’s a boat, not a merry-go-round.

It feels like it’s spinning.

Coral sat back in her chair, ready to bury herself in her book again. That’s just your hangover.

"No. I swear, it’s spinning!"

Olivia shot up in her seat, hands gripping tightly at its sides. Her face had gone a pale, sickly green. Coral dropped her book with alarm at the sudden movement and reached out to comfort her, to push away sweaty, blonde tresses. She wondered if she’d need to run and find a bucket for her to puke in, but when she threw her legs over the side of the chair, she felt it too.

The world was twirling. More specifically, the boat.

Shouts of alarm rang out on the deck, parents calling out to their kids to run to them, surprise and confusion resonating around them. Coral stood on wobbling legs. Yes, the world was definitely going in a circle.

What’s going on? Olivia asked in a panicked voice. Is it a tsunami or something?

I don’t know. Coral tried taking a step and nearly fell. She righted herself and looked around. They weren’t the only one’s feeling the vertigo. The floor suddenly lurched beneath them. There was a near deafening screeching sound like metal scraping metal, and then the boat came to a halt.

There was a pause as if the air itself stilled. Coral took a few steps, slowly because she was afraid even the slightest of movement might send the boat into a frenzy again. But nothing happened.

"What